


Excerpts from The Arbit Notebook

by ThaddeusBandido



Category: Friends at the Table (Podcast)
Genre: Arbit - Freeform, Copious amounts of half-thought-out Physics, Gen, Twilight Mirage Spoilers, for Episode 67
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-13
Updated: 2019-01-13
Packaged: 2019-10-09 16:21:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17410205
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThaddeusBandido/pseuds/ThaddeusBandido
Summary: Hundreds of years after the events of Twilight Mirage, the struggles and troubles of The Notion have largely become academic. Residents of the Mirage have only some partial idea about the people who rallied to protect the system from those who attempted to ensure that everyone played their part—those heroes who allowed the Mirage to live on its own terms.One of the relics left behind for study was a notebook, written by Grand Magnificent to maintain his legacy. At this date, excerpts of this treasured document are used as source material for those who study to build Divines.





	Excerpts from The Arbit Notebook

**Author's Note:**

> My mind hasn't been whipped like a racehorse often, but as soon as I heard the Table Friends start piecing together what Arbit is, my imagination was off to the races.
> 
> Art is my own, but the pendulum animations come from a modified vPython code found on trinket.io, a wonderful website that allows for code sharing and customization: <https://trinket.io/glowscript/9bdab2cf88>

_The following passages are excerpts from The Arbit Notebook. Arbit is housed on the planet Altar, home to a vast number of mausoleums and tombs dedicated to Divines that died well before the Miracle. In the full text (which was not permitted to be published by the current Excerpt of Arbit, although we thank them for allowing us to study this much for historical purposes), the description of the Divine and the relation to its Excerpt was emphasized, given the unique version of interaction seen in newer Divines at the time. The sacrosanct symbiosis of the pre-Miracle Divines was regarded as typical and essential at the time of the birth of Arbit. However, when the first Excerpt of Arbit created the body, his assigned role was, instead, that of a caretaker. The advent of Arbit marked the beginning of theological and deontological debates whose resolutions remain fluid to this day._

_The notebook was left behind to keep the will and intent of Arbit clear to succeeding Excerpts. It captures the firsthand account of the strife of which Abrit was borne, as well as the thought process of Arbit’s first Excerpt, ⸢Peace Returned to the Valley, The Rivers Flowed Clear and Blue, The Mountains Resplendent, Grand. Magnificent Light Shone on the Diligent and the Penitent Alike⸣._

* * *

Chaotic systems are designed such that, in any instant, it is technically possible to know where something is, but only an approximate knowledge of where the moving parts will go. Despite the efforts of every mad scientist and desperate artist in the Mirage, all chaotic systems are inherently deterministic if the starting point is known—especially in the face of an uncaring machine like Crystal Palace. Theoretically, by predicting every starting value and matching the resulting patterns to infinite trajectory maps, it could back calculate that initial value and predict some kid’s toy pendulum with perfect precision.

However, without knowing either the initial condition of a chaotic system or the addition of further impulse loads, discovering even that sparing bit of information is not only useless, but mathematically impossible. Discernable movement can only be observed. Not traced.

Not modeled, not predicted, not _calculated_.

I, Grand Magnificent, will design a Divine so thoroughly dynamic and chaotic, it would tear down the deterministic prophecising of Crystal Palace with the press of a single button—and the perpetual, immeasurable discombobulation that would follow.

**1\. Concerning The Mechanism**

The mechanism itself consists of two traditional chaotic systems paired together. The first is known as a Swinging Atwood’s Machine (SAM). In a typical pulley system, two masses (labeled M1 and M2) are connected by a rope and move freely in one vector (that being the pulling direction of the rope). A simple pulley system, though assumes that both masses are at rest before the motion starts.

As with most design endeavors, assumptions are meant to be broken in the worst way possible. By swinging the M2 side of a pulley system like a pendulum and maintaining the typical, vertical sinusoidal behavior on M1, the constantly oscillating length of the rope will cause the swinging motion of the pendulum to be chaotic. However, even still, the movement of a SAM can be categorized as a complex harmonious motion at certain mass ratios. The movement is convoluted, but it still technically has a period and therefore a discernable, repeatable path. That’s not good enough to doom Crystal Palace. That’s not good enough for _me_.

Thus, the second system is assurance: a double pendulum, incorporated into the design by splitting the SAM’s M2 mass into two separate masses (from here on labeled M2a and M2b). The constant trade-off of potential and kinetic energies between the two masses of a double pendulum make it impossible to back-calculate the initial conditions of the pendulum. The select few complex harmonious motions a double pendulum could exhibit are completely thrown out by combining its motion with that of the SAM; the constant change in the arm length of M2a disrupts any and all movement, as designed. The figures below show a simulation of the movement of M2a (black) and M2b (white) caused by the combination of systems, both in motion and over a small time lapse.

 

 

Designing the pulley system such that M1 would be hidden from view within the body of the Divine, and thusly remove any visible cause of the mechanism’s randomness, is trivial at best. ~~Note: ask Echo to tell Even to ask Cascabel about Q-glass fiber optics and reinforced cables.~~

The only demand of the mechanism is that the combined weight of M2a and M2b only be slightly heavier than M1. At rest, the mechanism should pull M1 to the top of the pulley system, but should be easily overcome by an outside force. Because of course there must be outside forces—this device still isn’t random enough for my taste.

**2\. Concerning Additional Complications**

The emerging Mirage Compression technology from the New Earth Hegemony has inspired me to think of uses for the tech that aren’t as destructive to our entire community as “compress and store away the only thing keeping us alive in the system.” Through some connections, I’ve managed to procure a copy of the production drawings for the Mirage compressors built by the NEH. (It’s better not to ask.)

If the Mirage can be compressed like a fluid, then it can have induced flow like a fluid. Concealed by the body of the Divine will be a Mirage compressor and nozzle, designed to use the compressed Mirage as an impulse force. M1, hidden inside the body of the Divine and designed to rise by default, will have a fluid catcher affixed to the back of it to catch the flow of Mirage and force it back downward, causing the double pendulum to tighten up once again. Relief valves at the base of the compressor will blow off any excess Mirage flowed into the compressor to zero out any effect that the Divine has on the density of the local Mirage.

However, in this design, where there is a value, there is a variable. The nozzle at the top of this compressor shall be fitted with a solenoid valve to vary the flow based on an input. Acceleration data from an accelerometer attached to M2b on the end of the double pendulum should prove sufficiently erratic to effectively randomize the pressure output of the compressor, and thus, randomize the length of the pendulum arm supporting M2a. (Maybe once the signal has been passed through a few gates and filters to make sure the solenoid doesn’t explode, first. ~~Look into this~~ )

That accelerometer data could also be fed into a weak electric engine attached to M2b itself. The engine would fire a short burst after a certain number of “swings” as determined by the incoming data. The number in question is a randomly selected prime number between 10000 and 13000, as selected by the computer (and its definition of “random”). Those numbers are arbitrary, but they are large enough to have significant amounts of time elapse between bursts.

With so many staggered inputs, not even knowledge of the mechanism’s initial conditions would be worth much to a predictive machine.

 _That_ is sufficient.

**3\. Concerning The Presentation**

Staying on Altar has been astounding inspiration for design. Monuments to dead Divines are scattered across the wastes of the planet. Crystal Palace may not be a Divine, but the scale is similarly large. Further complicating things, Crystal Palace isn’t dead—the design itself shouldn’t be a memorial of its death, but instead a monument dedicated to its incapacitation. The task, then, is simple: take the interpreted symbolism in the designs of the tombs and shrines around me, invert them, and weaponize them. The hardest aspect of design is, was, and always will be where to start.

 ~~What would the death of Crystal Palace look like?~~ too straightforward

 ~~What would a tomb dedicated to Crystal Palace look like?~~ too specific

_What would a tomb dedicated to the concept of prophecy look like?_

Nothing. Everything? Both, probably. Static elements that have aspects of _everything_ , moving elements with aspects of _nothing_ , combined to make a faceless sarcophagus.

Creating the feeling of nothing is easier than it should be, in all honesty. Carbon nanotube arrays, aligned in the right orientation, absorb nearly all incoming light and can cause viewers to lose any depth perception when looking directly at something painted in it. Painting M2a in this would be the best choice since it otherwise has the most visibly normal movement (which already isn’t much) and will be the location of my signature on the piece if people choose to look for it (written with a welding torch myself before painting, only barely visible with specific, non-light camera work due to irregularities in the surface). The perpetual, empty black of the nanotube array is only somewhat disturbing to look at, but it truly makes a lack of an impression.

Hah.

How do you recreate the feeling of everything, though? I think I have an idea, but writing it out might be the best way to solidify the concept.

Transparent solar cells made of Q-glass could house photoresistors, which quantify the intensity of light it faces, and be lined with flexible diode panels. The programming on the panels themselves would interact with local photoresistor data. The color to be displayed on the diode panels near each photoresistor would be determined by rounding the resistance value to the nearest whole number and dividing by three to find the remainder. That remainder value (0, 1, or 2) determines whether the diodes flash gold, silver, or bronze, accordingly.

The slight obscuring of the light by the Q-glass, as well as the feedback from nearby diodes, are not only desired but encouraged, since it will drive yet another level of constant, unpredictable change into this already-impossible mechanism. The incoming light will definitely be impacted by any shadow caused by the masses passing in front of the panels in addition to the mere presence of the carbon nanotube coating on M2a. However, designing the system to contour their colors with other nearby panels and setting a refresh rate slow enough to avoid epileptic responses are a must—I know above all else that aesthetics and public safety go hand-in-hand.

**4\. Artist’s Render**

All of the above put together into one succinct image. Ideally, this Divine will be at least ten stories tall, and the pieces will scale according to the strength of the cables and other highly-loaded parts of the Divine. These strength analyses haven’t been performed yet, so some dimensions will change in response to that.

 

This is why no one releases design drafts.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are always appreciated! I will do my best to respond to everything.
> 
> You can find me on Twitter [@tbandido_writes](https://twitter.com/tbandido_writes)! I'm mostly talking about P5 and MHA these days, but I have an admiration of FatT and TAZ that just won't quit.


End file.
